“My work is mostly centered on religion, mythology, legends, and traditions as we live them in Haiti,” he said. “I want to explore how our beliefs affect our daily lives. I want to explore how we live with the lwa, how we feed them, and how they impact or change us. I want to explore how far our beliefs can take us, and what they can make us do.”
Schneider Léon Hilaire (b. 1990) is a Haitian visual artist based in Port-au-Prince. He began teaching himself the rudiments of drawing by reproducing cartoon characters at an early age, and later sharpened his sense of observation and reflection by making self-portraits. As Hilaire began to receive commissions, he decided to focus on portraiture.
As an adolescent, he was committed to art-making and familiarized himself with the techniques of realistic painting. He registered at Le Centre d’Art de Port-au-Prince, where he developed his own style and visual language with the help of internationally renowned artists, such as Mario Benjamin, Emilcar “Simil” Similien, and Frantz Zéphirin.
Hilaire’s work represents the society he lives in with its beliefs and preoccupations. In his paintings, he channels the profound faith of a people attached to their ancestral heritage and constantly challenged by adversity.